By Larry Kane

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – It’s a happy holiday time for consumers, but people who look at the future of our money see hope and some challenges ahead.

With retail sales hot, the economy will get a seasonal boost. But Keith Aleardi, EVP and Chief Investment Officer at Fulton Bank, who is cautiously optimistic, sees Europe’s health as a key and also the continuing behavior of shoppers.

Listen to Larry Kane’s interview with Keith Aleardi and Ryan Sweet:

“Consumers are hunting for value,” Aleardi says. “They’re very particular about the goods they buy and the providers that they buy them from. So, it’s a challenging area in the consumer discretionary space within the market.”

Ryan Sweet, senior economist at Moody’s Analytical in West Chester, says his organization see jobs as the key to economic recovery. Right now, he sees glimmers of recovery, but says jobs have to be created faster.

“I generally think that the labor market is going to improve over the next six to 12 months,” Sweet says. “Next year, we’re going to be in much better shape than we were this year. Unfortunately I don’t think the economy is going to grow fast enough to really make a dent in the unemployment rate until 2013. At this point, typically in a recovery we should be generating 250,000 to 300,000 jobs per month”

Sweet and Aleardi discuss our economic future Sunday night at 9:30 during the Voice of Reason on the Comcast Network.